Very many of us start our New Year off by committing to better eating, better living and creating better habits. This is a good thing but often it is short lived because we bite off more than we can handle so we burn out quickly. Taking smaller steps over a long period of time can make a good intention hang around and be much more fruitful. For instance, many are recognizing the dangers of their soda addiction and would like to stop the habit. This can be daunting and nearly impossible if one just goes "cold turkey."

If soda is a bad habit for you, try cutting back by just ¼ can a day for a whole week. Then, the next week cut back by ½ can the whole week. The third week it would be ¾ can for another full week until finally the 4th week you are not drinking any. This is assuming you have ONLY one can of soda a day. If you drink many cans a day, the same principle applies--it will just take longer before you are drinking no soda. This very gradual way of weaning your body off the addiction will help in eliminating the bad habit. And, it works with whatever addiction you'd like to eliminate. Best of all, the New Year's resolutions become manageable and successful!